Quebec law firm launches PFAS class action over water contamination

A Quebec law firm is looking to widen a class action lawsuit against some nine manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances for contaminating private wells in the province with chemicals they produced in spite of mounting warning signs about their products’ risk to health.  

Slater Vecchio LLP says it seeks “compensation for both past and future costs” associated with removing PFAS from Quebec’s water supply and invites well owners and municipalities to join the class action launched in late September.

The law firm, which also has an office in British Columbia, initiated the class action based on PFAS contamination claims of a private well owner based in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, some 85 kilometres east of Montreal. The lawsuit alleges the well contamination is “a direct result of the defendants’ negligent practices in the production, use, transportation, processing, distribution and disposal of these persistent chemical compounds.”

Named in the lawsuit as defendants to date are companies such as 3M, DuPont, Tyco, BASF, Arkema, Archroma, Chubb, Amerex, and Dynax. 

“This situation demands immediate action to protect public health and the environment. By holding PFAS manufacturers and distributors responsible for the cleanup costs, we can ensure that those who profited from the creation of these harmful chemicals are the ones who pay for their removal, not the communities and individuals who have been unknowingly exposed to them,” announced Saro Turner, a partner at Slater Vecchio.

The lawsuit suggests PFAS manufacturers had decades to take action when scientific evidence of risks began to accumulate. Instead, the lawsuit notes there was a “striking contrast” between the mounting evidence of risk and the continued production and use of PFAS products. 

At the municipal level, the lawsuit suggests that distribution system operators will have to invest significant amounts of money to integrate PFAS treatment technologies.